Monroe rebounds

After an opening-week clobbering at the hands of Porter Ridge, Monroe was able to rebound last week with a resounding 54-14 win over Concord J.M. Robinson.

Monroe racked up 481 yards of offense on the ground, led by Chase Byrum’s 173-yard, three touchdown effort. Tre’Shun Wynn added another 116 yards and a pair of scores. It was a marked improvement over the Redhawks’ 110-yard performance against the Pirates to open the season.

Monroe coach Johnny Sowell said the biggest difference last week was the offensive line, which added guard Raul Hernandez to the rotation after the Porter Ridge loss. Sowell said he switched the offense to a Wishbone formation in order to spark some intensity up front.

“Once we felt like we were comfortable with that, we went back to our regular scheme and (did) what we normally do,” Sowell said.

This week, Monroe faces Concord and 6-foot-6 passer B.J. Beecher, who threw for seven scores in a Week 1 win over West Charlotte. The Redhawks, though, will be without injured defensive backs Douglas Carelock, Chris Rice and Jaquez Frazier.
Sowell said Wynn, Jaylen Barbour and LaVonte Baker will have to fill in on defense while also starting on offense.

“The bottom line is (Beecher is) going to throw it enough, so we have to make sure people are in the right place so that if they do catch the ball, it’s not a catch and a touchdown (but) a catch and another down to play,” said Sowell.